Discussions By Condition: I cannot get a diagnosis.

Numbness in Cheek

Hello all.I'm 23, uninsured, and was in a car accident last week where I flipped my car. The night after the car accident, my head started moving uncontrollably- first in one direction, and then in a different way, and so on. I used a warm compress, until all the sudden it was like my jaw was unhinged and the left side of it was no longer where it should be. It was the worst pain I've ever felt, and it subsided after about 5 terrible minutes or so. Then the neck cramps started up again. The next morning I went to the Doctor and she gave me muscle relaxants, which helped with the neck. But my left cheek felt swollen and sore- like it was bigger than it should be. Just tonight, I realized that the inside of my cheek is numb, and that's why it continued to feel so odd after so many days. An airbag did hit me in the face, but I get nervous about things and in my mind, I'm terrified it could be permanant, or even MS. It's been a week and my scabs are healing, but my cheek just feels numb and out of place. I've been drinking tea with honey, like the doctor said, but I'm afraid nothing has been working. Any ideas on cheek numbness?

1 Replies:

You may have a fracture of the orbit bones around the eye or a fracture of the maxilla. Go to an emergency room. The orbit one is especially serious. Patients may relay a history of the eye being struck by an object larger than the diameter of the orbital entrance. Fists, balls, or car dashboards are examples.Patients may have no complaints. However, they may complain of vision loss or diplopia. The double vision is often vertical and worse with attempted up or downgaze.Numbness (hypoesthesia) of the cheek and gum on the affected side may be present. Ecchymoses, ptosis (droopiness of the eyelid), and swelling around the eye may be noted.The examiner should obtain a past ocular history to assess whether any loss of vision or diplopia is due to the present accident or was established prior to this incident.Physical: A complete ocular evaluation is essential to ensure that no injury to the globe or optic nerve has occurred. Visual acuity and pupils should be evaluated to ensure that no loss of vision or traumatic optic neuropathy has occurred.The examiner should evaluate extraocular movements and document any restriction or palsy.A complete slit lamp evaluation and measurement of intraocular pressures should be performed.Most posterior segment injuries can be ruled out with a dilated funduscopic examination.The physical findings may involve only periorbital edema and ecchymosis; however, more severe cases may demonstrate limited vertical movement, enophthalmos, ptosis, and possibly proptosis.Unusually severe orbital edema may be associated with more severe fractures and can cause proptosis. Once the edema has subsided (usually 1-2 wk), enophthalmos may be present.Limited vertical movement may be due to entrapment of the perimuscular fascia of the inferior rectus in the fracture site. However, traumatic palsy of the third nerve branch to the inferior rectus also may cause decreased extraocular movements. If a question exists, forced duction testing may differentiate between the two conditions.So get thee to a doctor.